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Deconstructing the Construction Kit – Samples for music or sample-based music?
Look and Listen! More lunacy with Loops
We have two articles on this subject already, but new questions about using royalty-free samples in the production system have come about. And so, how many samples may you sample before your song is no longer a song, but instead a series of samples? And more importantly, why does any of this matter?
Well this whole idea is personal and totally subjective. There is a reason each individual makes their own bar for considering when their art is their own.
I don’t walk down the purist path because there is always someone more PURE than you. And if you believe more pure is better than objectively, factually someone will ALWAYS be better than you. Even if their output is horrible by your own standards. It’s putting the Process before the Product.
For drums….we can create a line of thought that gets ridiculous but makes logical sense.
Guy A uses a step sequencer loaded with samples to make his drum pattern.
Guy B says A is not as good because he uses drum pads and really finger drums.
Guy C says B is not as good because his electronic drum set is more real playing than cheating with pads.
Guy D says C is not as good because he plays a real acoustic drum set.
Guy E says D is not as good because he samples real world noises and natural sounds and is more original than using something as limited and boring as a drum set.
Guy A loads D’s samples and creates a drum pattern…and somehow he’s the fake-est for doing so.
Think of all the reasons for NOT using construction kits/samples/presets/templates etc……
1. Someday someone might use the same sound.
2. Someday someone might recreate my song on youtube and make it look easy.
3. Someday someone might sampleID one of my tracks
4. Someday someone might have a beat/track/song that sounds like mine.
And now deal with the reality that ALL of these are based on FEAR.
Afraid of how someone who is meaningless to you will think about you and your art.
This is a self-esteem issue when you only have imaginary confidence -based on what you think *might* happen in the future over your music.
As opposed to dealing with the reality of whether or not it’s WORKING FOR YOU.
Make music for money, hope it makes you rich.
Make music for fun, hope you’re having fun doing so.
Make music for no other reason than you are driven to do so, then I hope enough of the two previous reasons happen to sustain your desires.
This (PURITY) is IMPORTANT as an INDIVIDUAL CHOICE is- it may well decide how far and how seriously you take your music.
If you INVEST yourself heavily (Money, Emotion, Time, and Effort) in your music, you are more likely to take your ambition to an end result.
Not saying the end will make you rich, famous, popular but it’s harder to walk away from something you care about.
And if your music is YOU, then you will care enough to do something with it.
Anyone can noodle, move some sounds around…press some buttons, slap some keys…
Mixdown, limiter, upload and post on a profile/forum.
Anyone can tear down that process. Criticize, belittle, analyze it…
What they can’t discredit is the effect and impact your music has on others.
That’s the part that isn’t subjective and determined by a peers opinion.
If you can accept that idea then you will realize the importance of picking a creative workflow and ethic that TOUCHES YOU FIRST so that you are inspired, no – DRIVEN to give your music a chance to touch others.
Griffin Avid is a Media Editor for Producer’s Edge Digital Magazine.
Production related videos http://www.Youtube.com/GriffinAvid
Previous articles dealing with using loops and samples in your music.
https://producersedge.wordpress.com/2010/02/27/drum-works-ii-the-ideology-of-loops/
Big Fish Audio FREE kit of the week and 40% off – massive savings and Xmas early
Big Fish Audio 25 Days of Christmas Sale!
Save early! Big Fish Audio
Announcing the Big Fish Audio 25 Days of Christmas Sale! Starting December 1st on each day before Christmas, Big Fish Audio will have four products priced to spread holiday cheer! Save 40% off four new products every day!
The 25 Days of Christmas Sale includes products from our entire catalog. Look for savings on premium virtual instruments and the freshest loop products on our site. No coupon needed. Each set of four products will be on sale for only 24 hours and then we’ll roll out a new set of specials. So check back often and Happy Holidays!
Click here: http://www.bigfishaudio.com/25daysofchristmassale.html
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Ambient Skyline
View Product at BigFishAudio.com
Get this week’s free samplepack featuring one free kit of loops from Ambient Skyline. This pack only contains a partial set of loops from the included kit. The full library contains various other loops and samples from the kit. This set contains WAV, REX, and Apple Loop versions of each loop or sample.
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*Don’t forget, if you LIKE their page you get a discount on the BFA site.
Big Fish Audio’s 25 Days of Christmas Sale!
big fish audio logo Christmas sale
Announcing the Big Fish Audio 25 Days of Christmas Sale! Starting December 1st on each day before Christmas, Big Fish Audio will have four products priced to spread holiday cheer! Save 40% off four new products every day!
The 25 Days of Christmas Sale includes products from our entire catalog. Look for savings on premium virtual instruments and the freshest loop products on our site. No coupon needed. Each set of four products will be on sale for only 24 hours and then we’ll roll out a new set of specials. So check back often and Happy Holidays!
Happy Thanksgiving 2011 from Producer’s Edge Magazine (+ Free Sounds from Big Fish Audio)
Happy Thanksgiving 2011 from Producer’s Edge Magazine
Clap yo hands, stomp your feet
Live and Direct
Sometimes I feel like a pastor trying to come up with a sermon when I try to connect my recent experiences or encounters into a meaningful theme. But it hit me this morning when I got up. See, I spent last night watching a live band rehearse a few numbers. They are preparing for a battle of the bands coming up on December 3rd. I was invited by Shea the Doll, who worked with me on the Domino Grey albums and D.A. the Future; a skillful rapper making a big impact in my city. They needed a guitarist with both Soul and Rock so I called Jennifer Campbell from Issue 08 DJ Premier, Summer of Synths [http://issuu.com/producersedge/docs/pe_issue08_dj_premier] and in a few minutes a brand new member, with his electric guitar, walked into the session. Thanks Jen!
At first, the vibe was very studio-like and controlled- like practice-through repetition. Their band leader Curt, wanted more emotion and jamming and for everyone to loosen up. It wasn’t happening until the band started talking in-between run-throughs. Once they connected on a personal level, they were able to connect as a band.
D.A. the future and the band jam out
Not every idea sounds good to the band.
Okay, here am me thoughts:
At times, our one-man-army production flow can become a dry and static experience. You rotate from instrument sound to instrument sound, never taking on the persona of someone who would be PLAYING THAT INSTRUMENT. Yeah, that’s a cool bassline, but no bass player would play the same pattern for the entire track. Same for all the other elements in your track, except maybe the person with the cowbell, who’s dating the main cat or his manager or the non-musician buddy. Where was I?
As (beat creating) producers taking on the huge task of creating all the music ourselves, we need to consider the Dynamics of Interplay the next time we construct a track. You might be saying: “Well shoot Drew Spence aint you about to give us a bunch of loops from Big Fish Audio- what a contradiction?!”
No, not really, there are numerous means of manipulating your samples into motion and adding life to your tracks.
1. Chop those loops. Avoid just using the 4 parts of intro, verse, bridge and hook and create subtle variations. Yes you can do more than double the snare.
2. Use effects (a slight EQ increase or decrease) to accent the drums for the hook or a huge change in Q at transition points.
3. Learn to modulate your bassline, over time, to create a light sweep over several measures.
4. When laying down drums from a sampled break beat, use additional versions of the different hits and avoid using only 1 snare, 1 kick and 1 hat element from an otherwise varying drum loop sample.
5. When creating drums from multi-sample pack, lay down the same pattern with different velocities so you have the same drums recorded at different intensity levels.
6. If you are creating from a limited palette, you can actually swap out drum elements. More than just swapping out the snare for a stick, you can trade between similar snares. I know you had a second choice for snare in that folder.
7. Instead of pattern recording, you know, tick tick tick of the metronome for 4 or 8 bars- try letting the track play and jamming over it for …well, until the track runs out. Use different areas to create longer loops instead of a short, repetitious perfect take.
8. Turn off that quantize. nuff said.
9. When creating different loops or manipulating loops, choose new defining names- instead of intro, bridge and hook, think about “verse with more energy”, “hook and louder hook” You get the idea.
10. And finally; try adding a traditional musician into your mix. A live player will give you energy to feed off of and if you roll with a drummer, you can experience tempo changes as a way to control the feel of a track.
Usually at the end of a sermon they pass the plate, instead, I’m hitting you with some free sounds from our good friends over at Big Fish Audio. Don’t forget to take advantage of their Thanksgiving sale and also support the companies that support us. Have a good Turkey day. Keep producing, keep creating.
-Drew Spence Producer’s Edge Magazine
Happy Holidays from the staff at PE Mag 2011
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Subscriber’s Link to FREE SAMPLES
http://www.ProducersEdgeMagazine.com/GriffinAvid/2011Thanksgiving.zip
25% OFF all orders of $199 or more
http://www.producersedgemagazine.com/
Read about a Battle of the Bands in New York on Dec 3rd
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